Iran live updates: US blockade of Iran's Strait of Hormuz ports to begin Monday

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. achieved all its objectives in Iran, leaving the regime with no choice but to cut a deal.

"America's military achieved every single objective on plan, on schedule, exactly as laid out from day one," Hegseth said.

Hegseth listed some of the Iranian leaders killed in the war and sites the U.S. destroyed.

"This new regime is out of options and out of time, so they cut a deal," Hegseth said. "We control their fate, not the other way around. That's why they came to the table."

Hegseth claimed Iran can "no longer build missiles, build rockets, build launchers or build UAVs. Their factories have been razed to the ground, set back in historic fashion."

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post to X on Wednesday that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian "reaffirmed Iran's participation in the upcoming negotiations" with the U.S. planned for Friday in Islamabad.

President Donald Trump told ABC News on Wednesday morning that the U.S. may seek a "joint venture" with Iran to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz, following his Tuesday announcement of a two-week ceasefire.

"We're thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It's a way of securing it -- also securing it from lots of other people," Trump said when asked whether he would allow Tehran to charge tolls for shipping to transit the strategic waterway. "It's a beautiful thing," the president added.

Trump also said he would not allow Iran to retain any uranium enrichment capabilities, despite Tehran's repeated assertions that it will not give up its freedom to do so. "There won't be any enrichment," Trump said.

American forces in the region will also not be leaving, Trump said, suggesting they would remain in place to enforce any future agreement.

Trump said he expected peace talks to start on Friday and to move very quickly. The president also confirmed that China played a key role in dealing with the Iranians.

The announcement of a temporary ceasefire "may create transit opportunities, but it does not yet provide full maritime certainty," in the Strait of Hormuz, Danish shipping company Maersk told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday.

Maersk, one of the largest container shipping groups in the world, said it welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire but that, "information and details available remain very limited and we are working with urgency to obtain further clarity."

"Any decision to transit the Strait of Hormuz will be based on continuous risk assessments, close monitoring of the security situation, and available guidance from relevant authorities and partners," the group said, adding that for now, no changes were being made to its services.